This invention relates to a computer system Application Programming Interface (xe2x80x9cAPIxe2x80x9d) for generating and sharing common application definitions between multiple performance and resource management tools.
A number of performance and resource management tools have been developed to assist in administering and optimizing the performance of computer operating systems. In order for such software tools to be useful, they must be aware of the applications that are active in the computing environment that they are monitoring. Existing solutions for monitoring applications on a computer operating system require the administrator to define the applications which are present on the system in a manner specific to that performance or resource management tool used in that solution.
Current schemes for defining applications utilize unique configuration files which group computer system processes by process name, executable file, or other means. However, there exists no consistent approach to such groupings between the different performance and resource management tools currently in use. This lack of consistency forces the user of such tools to generate a configuration of application definitions for each of the different tools, independently of each other.
In one respect, what is described is a system for generating and sharing consistent application definitions amongst multiple performance and resource management tools. The described system includes a common interface for accepting requests from performance or resource management tools and returning requested process-to-application mapping data. The system uses a parameters file containing a common syntax for application definitions. A module in the system determines mapping from processes into applications, and a performance monitoring tool senses current system processes"" states and provides measurement data to the mapping module.
In another respect, what is described is a method for generating and sharing consistent application definitions amongst multiple performance and resource management tools. The described method includes establishing a set of application definition parameters from which performance and resource management tools can select in order to request performance and resource management data. The requests for information from the performance and resource management tools are accepted by the method. The requests are then processed to generate corresponding process-to-application mapping data, which is then delivered to the requesting performance and resource management tools.
In yet another respect, what is described is a computer readable medium on which is embedded a program. The embedded program includes components used to execute the above method.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate these and other advantages and benefits of various embodiments of the invention upon reading the following detailed description with reference to the below-listed drawings.